Collapsible fish landing net



June 18, 1940. spR 5 AL 2,205,229

COLLAPSIBLE FISH LANDING NET Filed NOV. 1, 1939 INVENTORS E/P/VEJT L. JPfi/GGJ JOHN H. Burr;

ATTORNEY6 Patented June 18, 1940 PATENT OFFICE COLLAPSIBLE FISH LANDING NET Ernest'L. Spriggs and John H: Butts, Rome, N. Y.,

assignors to Rome Specialty Company, Ina,

Rome, N..Y., a corporation of New York Application November 1,

2 Claims.

'Thisinvention-relates to collapsible'gfish landing nets and has for its object certainimprovements in such nets. The invention relates-more particularly to the construction of the supporting --"5 frame upon which the net is secured.

The device of the invention'may be readily extended into anoval or ring-like formation that is held firmly in position, and it may readily be collapsed into a compact mass. Extension'and collapse of the net are accomplished without any tools or the use of removable parts.

The invention contemplates a collapsible net comprising a pair of substantially parallel spring frame arms, which are jointed or hinged to one the arms are provided with ears claspable in slidable relation to one another. One of the ears contains a slot, and the ear of the other arm is I equipped with a stud adapted to pass through the slot of the first ear. The free end-of each ear is' adapted to slide inside the opposite arm when the arms are sprung into a ring. The spring tension thus applied holds the arms in their sprung relationship until the net is collapsed.

These and other features of the invention will be better understood by referring to the attached drawing, taken in conjunction with the following description, in which Fig. 1 is a plan view of a collapsible fish landing'net-in its open position, illustrative of a practice of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a plan view in part of the device in its collapsed position;

Fig. 3 is an exploded view in part of the frame parts of the device; and

Fig.4 is an end elevation in part of the assembled net. v

The device illustrated comprises a pair of spring frame arms H3 and H jointedor hinged at opposite ends by means of a combined handle holding and hinge member ii. The arms are advantageously formed of flat strips of spring metal approximately wide. The arms are pivoted to the hinge member by means of lugs l3 and M attached to the ends of the arms. These lugs are in turn provided with holes l5 and IS. The hinge member is provided with a threaded end portion I1 and a flattened hinge portion l8 provided with a hole l9.

Referring more particularly to Fig. 4, it will be seen that the lugs of the arms are provided with right and left offset shoulder portions and 2|, so that when they are juxtaposed they are adapted freely to accommodate the hinge portion l8 of the hinge member l2. A double headed rivet 22 another at the handle end. The other ends of 1938, Serial-No. 238,206

extends through the holes l5, l9, and 'l 6, and thus maintains the hinged connection.

Lugs l3 and M are also provided at their other ends with hooks 23 and 24 adapted to hold one or w more strands of the net 25. These hooks are sufd ficiently removed from the hinge, so that they will tend to keep strands safely away from the hinge area. The strands might otherwise become tangled up with the hinge and be sheared when the hinge is operated. 1

"Referring for the moment particularly to Fig. '3, -itwi1l be seen that the spring arms are provided at their free ends and inner sides with extended cars 26 and 21, which are advantageously in the. form of flat-faced lugs permanently secured to v the inside faces of the arms and oil-centeredso that they may readily slide against one another.

The car 26 is provided with a keyhole of conventional slot configuration, consisting of a'large end 23 and a narrow portion 29 near the extreme fio end thereof. The opposite ear 21 is provided with a stud 3B permanently secured to the face of the ear that is to contact or slide along the otherear.

The stud is provided with a body portion 3 l andv head 32, the head being wider than the bodysgg;

I throughof the head of the stud. Each ofthe cars is rounded at the extreme ends, as shown. The-ears, moreover, extend a suitable distance be- 35 yond the arms, so that the free ends of the ears may swing around the stud approximately and then'slide under the inside of the arms when the device is extended into its open or ring-like position. I a 40 The ears are provided at their other ends with "hooks 33 and 3% adjacenttothe inner side of 'the arms, as shown. These hooks are adapted to receive' one or more strands of the net 25. This is an important convenience for mounting the net on the frame and for keeping strands out of contact with the other ends of the ears. If the strands were permitted to become caught between the ears, they would soon be cut by the shearing action of the ears when they are turned against one another in opening and closing the net.

Assuming that the net is in the collapsed position illustrated by Fig. 2 and the net 25 has been suitably mounted thereon, the net may be opened as follows:

The stud 30 is first pushed through the large end 28 of the keyhole, so that its head may be in a position to slide over the narrow portion 29 of the keyhole. The arms are preferably so arranged that when the device is in its collapsed position the stud will extend a suitable distance beyond thelarge end 28 and be within the narrow portion 29 of the keyhole. This will keep the ears clasped together and place the device in readiness for extension.

Spring arms l0 and l l are then preferably grasped in the left and right hands respectively, with the thumbs resting on the outside of the arms near their upper ends. The central portions of the arms are next pushed outwardly with the smaller fingers while the thumbs are employed to push the extreme ends of the arms in the neighborhood of the ears inwardly until the rounded ends of the ears are in a; position to slide against the inside of the arms. The arms are then pushed toward one another, causing the ears to move in opposite directions, as the stud slides to the extreme end of the narrow portion of the key. The spring action of the arms is sufficient to retain the ears in locked position.

In order to collapse the device, the reverse procedure is followed. That is to say, the free ends of the arms are pushed toward the ears in order to release the spring action against them, and the arms are then pulled away from one another until the stud slides into the large end of the keyhole. At this point therounded portions of the ears are free of the free ends of the arms, and the spring action of the arms tends to pivot the ears about the stud as a fulcrum toward one another until they are substantially parallel with one another. i

A handle 35 may or may not be employed, as desired. It may be screwed readily around the threaded portion I! of the hinge member [2.

It will be obvious to those skilled in this art i that the collapsible fish net of the invention offers a number of important advantages. The net proper may be readily strung on the frame and effectively secured thereto. In the practice heretofore generally followed, after the net has been strung onto the two side arms or bands, it istied with a piece of cord or fish line to the hinges. This means at; least four operations of threading and tying to secure the net to the frame. In'accordance with the present invention, on the other hand, in order to string a net on the frame, the two arms are completely disengaged at one end by withdrawing the stud from the keyhole, as shown in Fig. 3 (except that the opposite ends of the arms remain hinged as shown in Figs. 2 and 4). The free ends of the arms are then inserted in the free loops 36 of the net, as shown in Figs. 1 and 4, until th'e'net is completely strung. The net is secured to the frame at the ends of each arm by hooking a strand of the immediate loop about the hooks 23, 24, 33, and 34. Since a pair of the hooks is located at each end of the arms, the net cannot slide laterally to either end of the arms. This manner of mounting the net assures substantially uniform distribution of net around the frame at all times. This is an important feature of the invention, particularly in conjunction with the frame structure which permits ready extension or collapse of the device. Those skilled in this art will appreciate that the above example is but a single embodiment of the invention.

We claim:

1. A collapsible fish landing net comprising a pair of normally relatively straight spring frame arms, said arms being joined to one another at one end, means for securing a handle to said end, the other ends of the arms being provided with relatively rigid ears claspable in slidable relation to one another, the ear of one arm being provided with a slot, and the ear of the other arm with a stud adapted to pass through the slot, each of said ears being provided with a hook at its inner end about which a strand of a fish net is hookable, said hooks lying opposite their corresponding arms and having their open sides in close proximity to said arms, whereby when the free ends of said arms are secured together to spring the arms into generally ring shape the flexure of the spring arms will tend to close the open spacebetween said hooks and said arms, the free ends of each ear being adapted to slide inside the opposite arm when the arms are sprung into generally ring shape and to hold the arms in their sprung relationship until the net is collapsed.

2. A collapsible fish landing net comprising a pair of normally relatively straight spring frame arms, said arms being joined to one another at one end, means for securing a handle to said end, the other ends of the arms being provided with relatively rigid ears claspable in slidable relation to one another, the ear of one arm being provided with a keyhole slot and the ear of the other arm with a stud adapted to pass through the large end of said slot, and to slide into the narrow part thereof, a hook extending from the inner end of each ear about which a strand of a 'fish net is hookable, the open ends of said hooks lying opposite their corresponding arms and in close proximity thereto, whereby when the free ends of said arms are secured together to spring the arms into generally ring shape the flexure of the spring arms will tend to close the open space between 'said hooks and said arms, the free ends of each ear being adapted to slide inside the opposite arm when the arms are sprung into generally ring shape and to hold the arms in their sprung relationship until the net is collapsed.

ERNEST L. SPRIGGS. JOHN H. BUTTS. 

